Green logistics is an inevitable trend

In the context of the world facing many environmental challenges, green logistics is emerging as an effective solution to help businesses meet environmental protection criteria while improving competitiveness and sustainable growth.

Many economic experts and researchers in the field of logistics believe that in the context of increasingly deep international economic integration as it is today, if businesses do not quickly and immediately implement the criteria to green the logistics service industry, in the future, businesses will face many difficulties and gradually be "eliminated" from domestic and global business, trade and import-export activities.

Speaking about this trend, Mr. Ngo Khac Le, Deputy General Secretary of the Vietnam Logistics Business Association, said that green logistics is still a relatively new concept that has not been fully and accurately understood. Therefore, to promote green logistics for comprehensive and sustainable growth in Vietnam, it is important to understand the nature and role of green logistics.

Mr. Ngo Khac Le - Deputy General Secretary of Vietnam Logistics Business Association.

Accordingly, in recent years, climate change and environmental issues have become increasingly serious, green logistics is becoming an inevitable trend in the global supply chain. In Vietnam, although the logistics industry is developing strongly, the application of green logistics is still limited. The main reason is the lack of full awareness of the importance of green logistics, along with the shortage of infrastructure and advanced technology. Enterprises also face high initial investment costs and risks related to changes in operating procedures.

Mr. Le Thanh Ha, Deputy Director of Vang Transport Joint Stock Company, said that if businesses do not quickly implement environmental and green logistics criteria, in the future, businesses will gradually be "eliminated" from business and commercial activities.

"This is a global requirement for a common trend. In particular, Vietnamese enterprises are facing great competition from a number of emerging markets; textile and footwear enterprises are losing many orders because enterprises in Bangladesh and European countries use green production technologies, require less emissions, and higher environmental quality. Therefore, domestic export enterprises need to pay attention to this issue," said Mr. Ha.

Mr. Ngo Khac Le, Deputy General Secretary of the Vietnam Logistics Business Association, added that currently, awareness of green logistics is still limited, especially among small and medium enterprises. Many businesses misunderstand this concept, thinking that simply planting trees in the business is enough. In fact, green logistics requires far-reaching changes in the entire supply chain, from transportation, warehouse management to packaging and packing.

Adopting green logistics brings many economic and environmental benefits. First, it helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save energy and resources, protect biodiversity and ecosystems. Second, it reduces operating costs and improves supply chain efficiency, while responding to government incentives such as tax incentives, credits or financial support. In addition, companies that adopt green logistics are often highly regarded for their social responsibility, improve community relations and attract environmentally conscious customers.

What to do to promote green logistics ?

Accordingly, to develop this trend, there needs to be policies to encourage businesses to invest in green logistics, reduce taxes, provide financial support and facilitate research and development of green technology. In addition, it is necessary to organize training programs, seminars and communication campaigns to raise awareness among businesses and the community about the importance of green logistics.

Along with that, it is necessary to promote the construction of modern infrastructure, such as green seaports, smart transportation systems and environmentally friendly warehouses. Strengthen cooperation with international organizations, learn from experiences and apply advanced green logistics models from developed countries.

Domestic enterprises must promote innovation, creativity, and digital transformation; strongly deploy green logistics, smart logistics, and logistics to effectively serve the import and export of goods.

Green logistics is an inevitable trend for businesses.

According to Dr. Nguyen Tien Minh, a logistics research expert, developing green logistics includes many activities, such as improving means of transport that use a lot of fuel and emit toxic gases into the environment, upgrading the quality of the transport infrastructure system, converting from road transport to waterways and railways; using environmentally friendly means of transport or low carbon emissions and operating the transport system optimally are important solutions to greening transport activities.

To develop green and sustainable logistics services, businesses need to take advantage of new generation FTAs ​​to expand the international logistics service market, focusing on ASEAN, Middle East, Africa and Latin America markets in addition to traditional markets.

"In addition, it is necessary to promote innovation, creativity, and digital transformation; strongly implement green logistics, smart logistics, and logistics activities that effectively serve the import and export of goods such as Vietnamese agricultural products. In particular, logistics enterprises need to continue to strive for the targets set by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 221/2021 on the action plan to improve competitiveness and develop Vietnam's logistics services by 2025," Dr. Nguyen Tien Minh shared.